Apparatus for recycling a fluid for use in a dental cuspidor

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for recycling a fluid for use in flushing a dental cuspidor of the type having a bowl, a faucet for introducing the flushing fluid into the bowl and a drain in the bowl from which the fluid is conducted to the recycling system. The recycling system comprises means for separating sedimentary material from the fluid. After the sedimentary material has been separated from the fluid, the fluid is directed to a means for filtering the fluid. The filtered fluid is then pumped to a storage means which retains the fluid under pressure until it is conducted back to the cuspidor. The system includes means for backwashing the filter means as well as means for eliminating excess fluid from the sediment and filter means should fluid overflow occur therein. Also provided are means for partially or wholly bypassing the recycling portion of the apparatus to permit the introduction of a regulated amount of fresh fluid into the system.

United States tet Kahn et al. 1

1111 3,842,448 Oct. 22, 1974 APPARATUS FOR RECYCLING A FLlUlD FOR USE INA DENTAL CUSPIDOR Primary Examiner-Henry K. Artis [76] Inventors: StuartL. Kahn; Carl G. Langbert,

both of 308 Raritan Ave, Highland [57] ABSTRACT Park 08904 Apparatus forrecycling a fluid for use in flushing a [22] Fil d; Mar, 29, 1973 dentalcuspidor of the type having a bowl, a faucet for introducing theflushing fluid into the bowl and a drain [21] Appl' 345976 in the bowlfrom which the fluid is conducted to the recycling system. The recyclingsystem comprises [52] us. Cl. 4/263 ns r sepa ating s dim ntary materialfrom the [51] Int. Cl. A61c 17/04 fl After the s dim ntary mat rial hasbeen sepa- [58] Field of Search 4/263, 262, 264, 266, 115, rated fromthe fluid, the fluid is directed to a means 4/10, 90, 73, 76 forfiltering the fluid. The filtered fluid is then pumped to a storagemeanswhich retains the fluid under pres- [56] References Cit d sure until itis conducted back to the cuspidor. The UNITED STATES PATENTS systemincludes means for backwashing the filter means as well as means foreliminating excess fluid gchnilfdeknflm 4/263 from the sediment andfilter means should fluid overorliss 4/l l5 3061433 12 1962 Di a a1 v t4 90 fl Occur there! pfovlded means for P 3,079,612 3/1963 Corliss 4/10or Wholly bypassing the recycling Portion 0f the 3326733 1/19 Ashmnm 4 2apparatus to permit the introduction of a regulated 3,440,669 4/1969Boester i 1 4 10 amount of fresh fluid into the system. 3.611131 lO/l97lStram et al. i. 4/263 3,708,806 1/1973 Kemper 4/10 9 Claims, 3 DrawmgFigures q WATER FRGM ar- PA5'S' VALVE 4472?? auseF-ean 4 E To 40 MAL/5'SEQ/ME 7' M I) 2.4 TAN/r A j 5g fissyue i i Q? 25 720/1 i FRESH '44; iVALVE 42 Ol/EZfZdW Z F7L7ER D/RECTYOA/AL 3 5 52 TANK VALVE I pun 1, I is\\\.D j ea F LrEF? H is i W K DQA/A/ F7?$H PAIENIEDBBTZZIBH I 3.842.448

sum 10F 2 wwmkik APPARATUS FOR RECYCLING A FLUID FORUSE IN A DENTALCUSPIDOR The present invention relates to fluid recycling systems andmore particularly to apparatus for recycling a fluid for use in flushinga dental cuspidor.

Water recycling systems have been known in the art and have takenvarious forms in accordance with the intended application of theparticular system. Most of these fluid recycling systems have beenutilized for the recycling of water in swimming pools or the recyclingof a coolant in an industrial machine of smoe type or an internalcombustion engine. However, these types of recycling systems aredesigned to achieve a particular result and, therefore, have provedinadequate or undesirable for a multitude of reasons when utilized forpurposes other than for which they were designed.

All dental offices utilize a cuspidor into which the patient releaseswater which he has used to rinse his mouth in order to eliminate foreignsubstances present therein. The substances present in the patient-smouth are of many types, such as particlesof silver from fillings asthey are ground down and removed, pieces of tooth enamel which areremoved during drilling, and other similar foreign substances whichnormally accumulate in the mouth during the dental procedures. When thisrinsing fluid and the foreign substances therein are released into thecuspidor, the foreign substances tend to adhere to thewalls of thecuspidor. Bacteria growth and offensive odors occur within the cuspidorbowl if the bowl is not cleaned within a reasonable time.

It is therefore necessary to continuously clean the interior walls ofthe cuspidor in order to aviod these unsanitary conditions. Normally,this is accomplished by means of a faucet which is placed on theinterior of the uppermost portion of the cuspidor rim. Water is introduced under pressure through this faucet such thatit makes severalspirals within the .cuspidor itself and cleans the entire area of theinner walls of the cuspidor. Gravity acts on the flushing water, movingit towards the bottom of the bowl as it spirals, and at the bottom itleaves the cuspidor by means of a drain.

The water introduced into the cuspidor by means of the faucet isnormally fresh water which is not reused. Since the water iscontinuously running in the cuspidor throughout the entire day, a greatdeal of water is used to eliminate a relatively small amount of foreignmaterial from the walls of the cuspidor. The cost of this waterrepresents a substantial expenditure on the part of the dentist.Moreover, larger dental offices having larger staffs have becomefashionable with the increases in specialization which are taking placewithin the dental profession. These larger dental offices may have asmany as five or dentists working simultaneously. Since eachdentistworking on a patient must have a cuspidor in which water is continuouslycleaning the walls, there may be as many as five or 10 differentcuspidors with water flowing therein operating at the same time for theentire workday. The amount of fresh water which normally would be usedin a single cuspidor is thereforeincreased five or ten-fold, making theexpenditure for fresh water a substantial cost factor in running thedental office.

Since it is not necessary for the water used to clean the walls of thecuspidor to be fit for human consumption, there is no necessity forcontinually introducing fresh water for thispurpose. However, since itis highly desirable to have water which is used for this purpose atleast cleaned to the point where it is odorless and colorless, it is notpossible to merely reuse the water without eliminating the foreignsubstances therein.

The present invention relates to a water recycling system which isparticularly well suited for the application described above andtherefore is specifically disclosed in conjunction therewith for use asa recycling apparatus to recycle the fluid which is used to flush thewalls of the dental cuspidor. However, it should be understood thatthere are many other uses for a system such as the one described herein,which will become obvious to one skilled in the art as the system ismore fully described. The system herein can be utilized to recycle andreuse water for any application in which the recycled fluid does nothave tobe fit for human consumption, and in which there is a relativelysmall amount of foreign substance deposited within a relatively largeamount of fluid. It therefore may have application in a dry cleaningestablishment or an automatic carwash, for example.

lt is therefore a prime object of the present invention to provideapparatus for recycling a fluid which is not to be used for humanconsumption and which has a relatively small amount of foreignsubstances deposited in a relatively large amount of fluid.

It is another object of the present invention to provide apparatus forrecycling a fluid for use in flushing the walls of the dental cuspidor.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide recyclingapparatus which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and maintainwhich comprises inexpensive and reliable elements which can be easilyand quickly replaced or repaired.

It is another object of the present invention to provide apparatus forrecycling a fluid having a filter means thereinwhich can easily bebackwashed in order to clean the filter.

It is another object of the present invention to provide apparatus forrecycling a fluid which can easily and quickly be bypassed such thatfresh water may be introduced into the system when desired.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide apparatus forrecycling a fluid which has means for automatically eliminating anyexcess fluid which may occur in the system.

In accordance with the present invention apparatus for recycling waterfor use in flushing the walls of a dental cuspidor is provided. A dentalcuspidor normally has a conical bowl and a cuspidor faucet on the innerrim of the bowl. Water under pressure is introduced from the faucet intothe bowl and circulates around the inner wall of the bowl until thewater is acted upon by gravity and moves to the extreme bottom of thebowl where a cuspidor drain is located. The drain is in fluidcommunication with a means for separating sedimentary material from thewater. After the sedimentary material has been separated from the water,the water is directed to a means for filtering the water. Both thesediment separating means and the filter means have means foreliminating excess water should an overflow in the system occur. Fromthe filtering means the water is pumped into a storage means where it isstored under pressure. The storage means is in fluid communication withthe cuspidor faucet such that the recycled water may be continuously fedinto the cuspidor. Means for introducing fresh water into the system islocated between the storage means and the cuspidor faucet so that theregulation of the relative amounts of recycled water and fresh waterintroduced into the cuspidor can easily be achieved.

This system is designed so that sediment separating means, filteringmeans and the storage means can be easily bypassed to permit a supply ofentirely fresh water to be fed to the cuspidor faucet and the drainagefrom the cuspidor to be led directly to a water drain. Bypassing therecycling portion of the system may be necessary in the event thatrepairs are required, the filtering means must be backwashed, or topermit drainage of the recycled water and introduction of fresh waterinto the system.

After a certain period of time, it will be necessary to clean thefiltering means in order to eliminate the foreign materials which haveaccumulated therein. This may be accomplished by backwashing the filter.It is desirable to perform the backwashing operation with as littleinconvenience and in as small a time as possible. In order to accomplishthis, the system is so designed that after the sediment means, filtermeans and storage means are bypassed, the direction of the pump may bereversed and the water in the storage means pumped backwards through thefilter means and out the drain. This function may be achieved withoutdisconnection of piping if a reversible pump is employed. Theappropriate valves are provided such that the pump will force water intothe outlet side of the filter means and out through the overflow pipeinto the drain, thus backwashing the filter without disrupting the restof the system. The backwashing operation, therefore, can be performed ina minimal time by simply turning certain valves.

To the accomplishment of the above and to such other objects as they mayhereinafter appear, the present invention relates to a preferredembodiment of apparatus for recycling a fluid for use in a dentalcuspidor as defined in the appended claims and as described in thespecification, taken together with the accompanying drawings in whichlike numerals refer to like parts and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the preferred embodiment of theapparatus.

FIG. 2 is a top elevational view of the dental cuspidor which is used inconjunction with the recycling apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the dental cuspidor of FIG. 2.

The present invention comprises a means for separating sedimentarymaterial, generally designated as A, which is in fluid communicationwith the drain of a dental cuspidor, generally designated B. Filtermeans, generally designated C, is connected to the sediment separatingmeans A in order to perform separation of substances not separated fromthe fluid by the sediment separating means A. Pump means, generallydesignated as D, is interposed between the filter means C and a storagemeans, generally designated E, in order to move the filtered fluid tostorage means E wherein it is stored under pressure until it isconducted back to the cuspidor B.

As seen in FIG. 1, the apparatus for recycling water for use in flushingthe walls of a dental cuspidor comprises an inlet pipe which is incommunication with the drain 12 of the dental cuspidor B. The inlet pipe10 rating sedimentary material A which is shown here as sediment tank16. A system bypass valve 18 is located in pipe 14 in between inlet pipe10 and sediment tank 16. Inlet pipe 10 is also connected to a drain pipe20 by means of drain valve 22. Drain pipe 20 leads directly to a drain24 which may be connected to a sewer or the like in order to dispose ofunwanted water. System bypass valve 18 is normally opened and drainvalve 22 is normally closed so that the water from cuspidor drain 12which passes through inlet pipe 10 is directed to sediment tank 16.

Sediment tank 16 is a commercially available piece of equipment in whichthe water which is being recycled is permitted to stand for a shortperiod of time in order to permit the heavier particles of the foreignsubstance contained therein to settle to the bottom of the tank. Theparticles which will settle out of the water which comes from thecuspidor will be, for example, small pieces of silver which are drilledby the dentist when old fillings are removed, pieces of enamel which aredislodged by drilling and the like. All of these particles, because oftheir size and weight, will settle to the bottom of sediment tank 16.Located near the top of sediment tank 16 is overflow pipe 26. Overflowpipe 26 is effective only when an excess of water is present in sedimenttank 16. Instead of backing up into inlet pipe 10, the water will flowout overflow pipe 26 and into drain 24.

After the larger particles have been removed from the water by sedimenttank 16, the water is conducted by means of pipe 28 into a filter meansC shown here as filter tank 30. Filter tank 30 can be any commerciallyavailable filtering apparatus. However, it has been found that a tankpartially filled with activated charcoal functions particularly well inthis regard. Another overflow pipe 32 is connected between filter tank30 and drain pipe 20 in order to eliminate a water backup into thesediment tank 16 which may result when the quantity of water in thefilter tank becomes too great.

The filtered water exits from filter tank 30 by means of pipe 34 whichleads into a pump means D shown here as a pump 36. Pump 36 can be anycommercially available water pump. However, it is preferable to use apump which can easily reverse direction to facilitate backwashing offilter tank 30. From pump 36 the filtered water is pumped under pressureinto storage means E shown here as pressure tank 38 via pipe 40. Inpressure tank 38 the water is stored under pressure until it is fed tothe cuspidor unit. It is preferable to keep the water underapproximately 60 lbs/inch pressure in pressure tank 38 to provide thenecessary pressure for running the water through several cuspidor unitssimultaneously.

From pressure tank 38 the stored water is directed through a variableflow valve 46 by means of pipe 48. Flow valve 46 permits the regulationof the amount of water which is taken from pressure tank 38. The extentto which flow valve 46 is opened will depend upon the requirements ofthe system and particularly the number of cuspidor units which are beingutilized simultaneously. Pipe 48 divides into pipe 50 which leads backto the cuspidor unit, and pipe 52 which leads to drain 24. Drain valve54 controls the amount of water which flows from pipe 48 into pipe 52and thus into drain 24. Drain valve 54 is normally closed. However, inthe event that the water from pressure tank 38 is to be drained, forinstance when fresh water is being introduced into the system, drainvalve 54 is opened, thus permitting the water which is present inpressure tank 38 to be conducted into drain 24.

A secondary water filter 56 may be provided in pipe 5'0 if desired. Thesecondary water filter 56 is generally a small screen or paper filterwhich is used to trap any remaining impurities in the water. Fromsecondary water filter 56 the water is conducted by means of pipe 58through a second system bypassing valve 60 to out-' let pipe 62 which isin fluid communication with the cuspidor faucet 64. v

A fresh water inlet pipe 66 is provided in fluid communication with afresh water source (not shown). Fresh water inlet valve 68 controls theintroduction of fresh water into the system. By means of the properregulation of system bypass valve 60 and fresh water inlet valve 68, thedesired percentages of fresh and recycled water may be introduced intopipe 62 and thus cuspidor faucet 64. In the event that the recyclingportion of the system is to be bypassed entirely, such as during thetime when repair or backwashing is taking place, system bypass valve 60is closed entirely and fresh water inlet valve 68 is opened. During thistime only fresh water will be introduced into the cuspidor. At othertimes fresh water inlet valve 68 will be partially or entirely closedand system bypass valve 66 opened such that the water from the cuspidoris continuously recycled.

Under normal operating conditions, bypass valve 18 and bypass valve 60will be opened. Drain valve 22 and fresh water inlet valve 68 will beentirely or partially closed depending upon whether small quantities offresh water are being continually introduced into the system or not. Inthis mode of operation, the water from the cuspidor is conducted tosediment tank 16, through filter tank 30 and is stored under pressure inpressure tank 38 until recycled water is reintroduced into the cuspidor.

However, there will be times when it will be necessary to bypass therecycling portion of the system entirely such as for draining, repair orcleaning. In order to accomplish this, bypass valve 18 and 60 are closedand drain valve 22 and fresh water inlet valve 68 opened. The water fromthe cuspidor will flow directly into drain 24 in this instance and onlyfresh water will be introduced into the cuspidor. This will leave therecycling portion of the system dormant to permit the necessarydraining, repair, or cleaning operations to take place withoutinterrupting the function of the cuspidor.

In order to backwash the water filter, a backwash valve 32 is providedbetween the sediment tank 16 and the filter tank 30 in pipe 28. Also, adirectional valve 44 is provided between pump 36 and filter tank 30 inpipe 34. The backwashing is accomplished by reversing the direction ofpump 36 as well as directional valve 44 and closing backwash valve 42.The pump 36 will then pump water from pressure tank 38 into the outletside of filter tank 30 and through overflow pipe 32 into drain 24. Thebackwashing of filter tank 30, therefore, may be accomplished withoutdisconnecting any parts of the apparatus. This configuration makesbackwashing considerably more convenient and less time consuming. Ofcourse, the amount of time required for backwashing the filter willdepend on the requirements of the particular type of filter meansutilized in filter tank 30.After the backwashing operation is completed,backwash valve 42 is opened, directional valve 44 and pump 36 arechanged to the forward direction, and the recycling apparatus is againready to recycle the water.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show top and side views of the cuspidor bowl,respectively. The cuspidor B comprises a bowl having an inlet faucet 64and a drain 112. On the inner rim near the top of bowl "70 is situatedthe cuspidor faucet 64 which is in fluid communication with water outletpipe 62. The water is; introduced into cuspidor bowl 70 by faucet 64which directs the flow of water along the upper portionof the inner rim.The water is introduced under pressure such that it revolves around bowl76, in a clockwise direction, as shown in FIG. 2, as it is pulled bygravity towards cuspidor drain 12. The revolution of the water insuresthat the entire area of the inner wall of bowl 70 will be fluished bythe water. The water makes several revolutions within bowl 70 andfinally ends up in drain12 which is in fluid communication with waterinlet pipe 10. The water, after it has traveled over the inner walls ofbowl 70, is thus directed by means of drain 12 into the recyclingportion of the system. In the recycling portion of the system it will bepurified and stored until such time as it is reintroduced into thecuspidor bowl 70 by means of cuspidor faucet 64.

Although only a single cuspidor bowl is shown in conjunction with therecycling portion of the apparatus, it is obvious that as many cuspidorbowls may be fed by this system as are necessary. Of course, thepressure under which the stored water is kept in storage tank 38 willdepend upon the number and placement of the cuspidors which are to befed by the system.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention has been specificallydisclosed herein for purposes of illustration it is apparent that manyvariations and modifications may be made upon this specific structuredisclosed herein. It is intended to cover all of these variations andmodifications which fall. within the scope of this invention as definedby the appended claims.

We claim:

ll. Apparatus for recycling a fluid for use in a dental cuspidorcomprising a cuspidor bowl, a drain in said bowl, means for separatingsedimentary material from said fluid, and separating means being influid communication with said drain, means for filtering said fluid,means for storing the filtered fluid under pressure and a cuspidorfaucet in fluid communication with said pressure means for introducingthe recycled fluid into said bowl.

2. The apparatus according to claim I further comprising means forbackwashing said filter means.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising means foreliminating overflow fluid from said sediment means and said filtermeans.

4. The apparatus according to claim I further comprising means forbypassing said apparatus such that fresh fluid may be utilized insteadof recycled fluid.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising means fordraining the fluid from said apparatus.

6. Apparatus for recycling fluid comprising a cuspidor having a bowlwith a drain therein, an inlet pipe connected to said drain, a sedimenttank in fluid communication with said inlet pipe, a filter tank in fluidcommunication with said sediment tank, a pressure tank for storing thefiltered fluid, a pump for pumping said fluid from said filter tank tosaid pressure tank and an outlet pipe in fluid communication with saidpressure tank and connected to said cuspidor for introducing therecycled fluid therein.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6 further comprising a secondaryfluid filter in said outlet pipe.

8. The apparatus according to claim 6 further comprising a drain and afirst and a second overflow pipe, said first overflow pipe beingoperably connected between said sediment tank and said drain and saidsec- 8 ,7 0nd overflow tank being operably connected between said filtertank andsaid drain.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8 further comprising a backwashvalve between said sediment tank and said filter tank and a directionalvalve between said pump and said filter tank such that when thedirection of fluid flow from said pump is reversed, said backwash valveclosed and said direction valve conditioned to permit reverse flow, saidfilter tank can be backwashed through said second overflow pipe.

1. Apparatus for recycling a fluid for use in a dental cuspidor comprising a cuspidor bowl, a drain in said bowl, means for separating sedimentary material from said fluid, and separating means being in fluid communication with said drain, means for filtering said fluid, means for storing the filtered fluid under pressure and a cuspidor faucet in fluid communication with said pressure means for introducing the recycled fluid into said bowl.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising means for backwashing said filter means.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising means for eliminating overflow fluid from said sediment means and said filter means.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising means for bypassing said apparatus such that fresh fluid may be utilized instead of recycled fluid.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising means for draining the fluid from said apparatus.
 6. Apparatus for recycling fluid comprising a cuspidor having a bowl with a drain therein, an inlet pipe connected to said drain, a sediment tank in fluid communication with said inlet pipe, a filter tank in fluid communication with said sediment tank, a pressure tank for storing the filtered fluid, a pump for pumping said fluid from said filter tank to said pressure tank and an outlet pipe in fluid communication with said pressure tank and connected to said cuspidor for introducing the recycled fluid therein.
 7. The apparatus according to claim 6 further comprising a secondary fluid filter in said outlet pipe.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 6 further comprising a drain and a first and a second overflow pipe, said first overflow pipe being operably connected between said sediment tank and said drain and said second overflow tank being operably connected between said filter tank and said drain.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 8 further comprising a backwash valve between said sediment tank and said filter tank and a directional valve between said pump and said filter tank such that when the direction of fluid flow from said pump is reversed, said backwash valve closed and said direction valve conditioned to permit reverse flow, said filter tank can be backwashed through said second overflow pipe. 